Best Buys
The Which? Best Buy award is given to
products with high total test scores that perform consistently well in
our rigorous lab tests and excel in all key areas.
Energy Savers
We award the Energy Saver logo to
products that our testing shows are very energy efficient, meaning
they'll cost you less to run.
Don't Buys
The Which? Don't Buy logo alerts you
to the products that performed extremely poorly in one or more key
areas of our tests.
Time to boil
How quickly the kettle boils 1 litre of water.
Noise
How noisy the kettle is when boiling. Quieter kettles get higher star ratings.
Overboil time
How quickly the kettle turns itself off after reaching boiling point, saving time & electricity. Better kettles have shorter overboil times.
Minimum fill
How much water you need to fill the kettle with to be able to use it - better kettles have lower minimum fill amounts.
Energy to boil
How much energy it took to boil 1 litre of water.
Quality of the limescale filter
How effective the filter is at blocking limescale from getting out of the kettle.
Limescale filter overall
How effective the limescale filter is and how easy it is to remove, clean and replace it.
Ease of opening/closing the lid
We consider how the lid is opened, how easy & smooth this is to do and how much force is needed to close it again.
Filling the kettle
We rate the ease of filling the kettle, both through the lid opening & the spout where possible.
Handle
Five star kettles have a handle that is well designed & comfortable to hold, suiting all hand sizes.
Manoeuvring, handling and carrying the kettle
We rate the weight & balance of the kettle, when full & empty, and assess the ease of returning it to its base.
Controls
Size, brightness and position of buttons and markings.
Pouring the kettle
A five star kettle will only pour water from the spout, not from the surrounding lid, and will not drip after use.
Ease of reading water windows/gauges
We rate how easy it is to read the water gauge & how responsive it is to changes in the water volume.
Ease of cleaning
We check the outer surfaces of kettles for dirt traps & rate whether they are quick to show fingermarks and smudges. We also rate how easy it is to clean the inside of the kettle, to get rid of any lingering limescale.
Matching toaster
'Yes' indicates that the kettle has a matching toaster.
Reduced temperature settings
Whether the kettle has any heat settings other than boiling.
Auto switch-off
'Yes' indicates that the kettle will switch itself off automatically if lifted off its base.
Price
Typical prices are the most common online price we found and are updated monthly. Retailers you see on the 'Compare Prices' links are from a third party. We cannot guarantee stock availability at these retailers and don't endorse them in any way. We are not responsible for any loss or damage for third party websites and have no control over their content.
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